Free Hannah in the Spotlight by Natasha Mac a'Bháird Page A

amazing!’ I managed to say. Already I was picturing all the scenes we could act out with these fabulous props. The bike made me think of The Wizard of Oz, and the phone was just like the one in It’s a Wonderful Life. The throne would be perfect for any fairytale, and the curtains could be used for so many different things.
    ‘You haven’t even seen the best bit yet,’ Meg said. ‘Give me a hand with this, will you?’
    She indicated a huge brown trunk with leather handles, which lay underneath a scratched folding table. I took one of the handles and together we pulled it out to where there was more space.
    Meg took down a key that was hanging from a chain on a nail above our heads, and inserted it in the lock. I was half expecting to see gold coins and sparkling tiaras, but what was inside was even better.
    ‘Oh my God. Costumes!’
    The trunk was stuffed full with theatrical clothing of all sorts.
    ‘Look at this!’ I found an amazing feather boa, long and thick and deep pink. I flung it around my neck and modelled it for Meg.
    ‘You need this to go with it,’ Meg said, plonking a floppy hat with a feather in it on my head. ‘And this!’ She handed me a huge sparkly shoulder bag.
    A full-length mirror stood under the dormer window. I walked over to it, admiring my reflection in the dim light from the bare bulb overhead.
    Meg came to join me, wearing a full-length ballgown in royal blue and a long string of beads.
    ‘Well, we don’t look much like Pauline and Petrova, but we do look pretty good,’ she giggled.
    I was so engrossed in the amazing costumes I’d actually forgotten what we were supposed to be looking for.
    ‘Where did Sadie get all this stuff?’ I asked. ‘It’s so cool.’ I rummaged through the trunk again and pulled out some more hats – a top hat, slightly out of shape, but still smart, a soldier’s helmet and an Easter bonnet.
    ‘Oh, she just likes collecting old stuff,’ Meg said. ‘Look, this is her wedding dress, can you believe it?’ She showed me a beautiful lace dress with long sleeves and little pearls sewn in around the neckline. It was a bit old-fashioned, but still so elegant. Meg held it up against her and went over to the mirror once more.
    ‘How are you getting on up there?’ Sadie called from the bottom of the steps.
    ‘Great. Look what I found,’ Meg said, leaning over the open hatch with the wedding dress.
    ‘Be careful!’ Sadie said quickly. ‘I don’t want you falling. What have you got there? Oh, my beautiful wedding dress! I did hope your mum would wear it for her wedding, but she wanted something a bit more modern.’
    ‘I can’t picture Mum in this,’ Meg agreed. ‘Maybe I’ll wear it some day!’
    ‘I hope you do,’ Sadie said. ‘Well, let me know if you need any help.’
    I heard the patter of her footsteps as she went back downstairs. Meg folded the wedding dress carefully and put it to one side.
    ‘Sadie’s so nice,’ I said to her. ‘You must be glad to beliving near her again.’
    ‘Oh yes, it’s great,’ Meg said. ‘It’s the best thing about – well, everything. Oh, look! I knew there was something like this here.’ She pulled out a dark green gingham dress, a bit like an old-fashioned school uniform. ‘Look, don’t you think this would do for one of the girls?’ She held it up against her.
    ‘It’s perfect!’ I said. ‘Wow, it’s so great to be able to use all this stuff.’
    ‘Let’s see what else there is.’
    We rummaged through the rest of the clothes and found a couple of other things we thought might work – a simple jumper and a kilt for one of the girls, a long sweeping black skirt for Madame Fidolia, and a tweed skirt and high-collared white blouse for Nana.
    ‘Lucky Laura gets to have the most fun with her costumes,’ Meg said. ‘She’s going to love all this stuff. Do you think we need anything for Ruby, or will she just wear her normal ballet gear?’
    ‘We’d better find her a jumper and skirt